Now Reading: The Obesity Paradox – should lack of physical fitness be considered a medical emergency?

My answer to the above is yes. I have told people at the Center for Total Health (@kptotalhealth) that I consider a patient who presents to their doctor without any physical activity a medical emergency. I get looks of surprise when I say this, sometimes a slight chuckle.

Bob passed me this paper, which shows, in a study of 14,345 men, assessed over 7 years, that weight was not associated with death. Level of physical activity is, across all weights.

I have believed that lack of physical activity is a medical emergency long before this study. There are several reasons for this. Before I say what those are for me, I’ll see if you agree or what you think of this concept – post in the comments, or on your favorite social network, please…

You seem to clearly be saying that activity is equivalent to fitness. Intuitively that makes sense but could you connect the dots with some evidence? I know I’ll be asked when I quote this (which I will).

I don’t mean to be lazy but you’ve blogged enough on this that it’d be challenging to home in on the specific posts that will answer the question.

Sure, the evidence is in the paper linked above. Also check out the editorial that Bob Sallis wrote also above – he references several studies that are linked and he’s a national expert in this.

And also, this just feels better and more human-centric. Being told you are ill with a disease that whose control seems intractable (obesity) vs one that you can control starting almost immediately (becoming active) lends to more empowerment. And it turns out, more health,

“Men who maintained or improved adequate physical fitness were less likely to die from all causes and from cardiovascular disease during follow-up than persistently unfit men. Physicians should encourage unfit men to improve their fitness by starting a physical activity program.”

Go forth and promote physical activity. If anyone doubts that this is good for health, send them our way, always here to support you,